Grip for ski poles and the like



May 4, 1965 w. M. CAMERON ETAL 3,181,880

GRIP FOR 'SKI POLES AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 18, 1965 INVENTORS WILL/AM A4. CAMERON LAWEENCE 6'- POWERS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,181,880 GRIP FOR SKI POLES AND THE LIKE William M. Cameron, Lafayette, and Lawrence G. Powers,

Hayward, Calif., assignors, by rnesne assignments, to

Henry D. Whittlesey, doing business as Whittlesey,

Powers and Cameron, Hayward, Calif.

Filed Jan. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 252,508 Claims. (Cl. 280-1157) This invention relates to hand grips and more particularly to a contoured hand grip for ski poles and the like.

It is an object of this invention to provide a contoured hand grip for ski poles and the like where the shape of the grip both (1) fits a wide variety of hands of different sizes, and (2) provides contoured supporting surfaces for engaging the users hands most efiiciently when the grip is in use.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a grip for ski poles on which a conventional wrist strap may be supported most efficiently with the two end portions of the strap dividing into a loop under the users palm and with these end portions blending into the contour of the grip.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the attached drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a ski pole grip constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are elevational views of the grip of FIG. 1 taken perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 and illustrating respectively the finger engaging side and the palm engaging side of the grip of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating the manner in which the users hand fits the grip with the wrist strap attached to the grip, and

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the grip of FIG. 4 taken along the plane indicated 55 in FIG. 1 and showing the grip with wrist strap of FIG. 4 in place.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the grip illustrated therein is made of an elongated body having upper and lower ends 12 and 14 respectively with a longitudinal passageway 16 (FIG. 5) extending therethrough for the receipt of the upper end of a ski pole 18. The body 10 has extending between its ends an elongated finger engaging side 20 (FIG. 2) and an elongated palm engaging side 22 (FIG. 3).

The body 10 has a single outward projection 26 between the ends of the finger engaging side 20 which divides the finger engaging side into a small upper pocket 28 for receiving the users index finger and a large lower pocket for receiving the users other three fingers. The under surface of the projection 26 is smoothly contoured at 32 to provide a downwardly facing bearing surface on the upper end of the large pocket 30 for engaging the side of the users third finger as indicated in FIG. 4.

It has been found that the finger engaging side 20 of the grip when shaped in this manner provides a most efficient support for the users hand while also providing a grip which will fit a wide variety of hands of different sizes. The single projection 26 between the index and third fingers provides a reference point on the grip about which the hand fits, with hands of different sizes extending different distances on opposite sides of this reference point, and the single projection 26 provides all of the support surfaces which are required to support the hand efficiently against longitudinal movement on the grip. Thus, it has been found that the support surface 32 is a very important one in the use of the grip in that it provides the major support against longitudinal movement of the grip downwardly out of the users hand when the lower end of a ski pole is rapidly swung forward; when a ski pole is swung in this manner, the upper end of the pole 3,181,889 Patented May 4, 1965 ice is moving rearwardly in the users hand and thereby tends to slip out of engagement with the index finger, and at the same time the two lowest fingers on the hand tend to give no substantial support to the grip because the user tends to relax these lowest fingers when swinging the pole forwardly.

As can be best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the body 10 is provided with a lateral opening 34 thereinto adjacent to the upper end 12 so that the two end portions of the wrist strap 36 may be passed into the grip and attached to the pole 18 in conventional manner by a screw (not shown) which is threaded into the upper end of the pole 18 through the top of the aperture 16 in the grip. In the grip contoured in accordance with this invention, the palm engaging side 22 of the body 10 is provided with a generally V-shaped surface 38 the vertex 40 of which extends longitudinally of the body 10 with this V-shaped surface 33 intersecting the opening 34 at a generally V-shaped shoulder 42 over which the end portions of the strap 36 extend. The provision of this V-shaped shoulder 42 in the area where the end portions of the strap enter the grip facilitates the smooth bending of the strap end portions from the position where they are superposed on each other on top of the pole 13 to the position where they divide onto opposite sides of the users wrist along the palm engaging face 22. As can be best seen in FIGS. 1 and 5, the palm engaging face 22 is also contoured in this area so that the end portions of the strap 36 smoothly blend into the overall contour of the grip. Thus, the palm engaging face 22 is inwardly relieved immediately below the opening 34 from a smoothly rounded extension of the surface of the pocket 28 thereby providing an inwardly inclined shoulder 44 at the back edges of the pocket 28, and this portion of the palm engaging face is relieved inwardly by a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the strap 36. With the palm engaging face shaped in this manner, the two end portions of the strap 36 fit against the upper side of the palm engaging face in a manner so that the surface of the pocket 28 and the outer surfaces of the end portions of the strap 36 together form a smooth contour around the upper end of the grip.

While one specific embodiment of our invention has been illustrated and described in detail herein, it is obvious that many modifications thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention.

We claim:

1. A contoured hand grip for ski poles and the like which comprises an elongated body having top and bottom ends with generally opposed palm engaging and finger engaging sides extending between said ends with said finger engaging side having a contoured surface containing a single outward projection thereon in the area thereof which receives the users fingers with said projection dividing said surface into an upper pocket adjacent to said upper end for receiving the users index finger and a lower pocket adjacent to said lower end for receiving the users other three fingers.

2. The grip of claim 1 characterized further in that said outward projection has a contoured under surface providing a contoured shoulder on the upper end of said lower pocket for embracing the side of the middle finger of the users hand and preventing its upward movement on said body.

3. The grip of claim 1 characterized further in that said palm engaging side of said body has a generally V shaped surface portion thereon adjacent to said upper end with the vertex of said V-shaped surface portion extending longitudinally of said body and with said V-shaped surface portion terminating adjacent to said upper end in a generally V-shaped shoulder facing toward said upper end, and a wrist strap is mounted on said body with two s) end portions of said strap extending over said V-shaped shoulder and supporting said strap in a loop adjacent to said palm engaging side of said body.

4. The grip of claim 3 in which said body has a crosssectional profile taken through said upper pocket and said generally V-shaped surface portion which in the area of said pocket is smoothly rounded and in the area of said V-shaped surface portion is inwardly relieved by the thickness of said strap from a smoothly rounded projection of said pocket.

5. The contoured hand grip for ski poles and the like which comprises an elongated body having upper and lower ends with generally opposed palm engaging and finger engaging sides extending between said ends with said palm engaging side having a generally V-shaped surface portion thereon adjacent to said upper end with the vertex of said V-shaped surface portion extending longitudinally of said body and with said V-shaped surface portion terminating adjacent to said upper end in a gen erally V-shaped shoulder facing toward said upper end, and a wrist strap mounted on said body and having two end portions extending over said V-shaped shoulder and supporting said strap in a loop adjacent to said palm engaging side of said body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 191,751 11/61 Woodall 280-1137 D. 192,866 5/62 Crenshaw 28011.37 2,208,365 7/40 Gerber 280-1137 3,085,814 4/63 Scott 28011.37

A. HARRY LEVY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A COMTOURED HAND GRIP FOR SKI POLES AND LIKE WHICH COMPRISES AN ELONGATED BODY HAVING TOP AND BOTTOM ENDS WITH GENERALLY OPPOSED PALM ENGAGING AND FINGER ENGAGING SIDES EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID ENDS WITH SAID FINGER ENGAGING SIDE HAVING A CONTOURED SURFACE CONTAINING A SINGLE OUTWARD PROJECTION THEREON IN THE AREA THEREOF WHICH RECEIVES THE USER''S FINGERS WITH SAID PROJECTION DIVIDING SAID SURFACE INTO AN UPPER POCKET ADJACENT TO SAID UPPER END FOR RECEIVING THE USER''S INDEX FINGER AND A LOWER POCKET ADJACENT TO SAID LOWER END FOR RECEIVING THE USER''S OTHER THREE FINGERS. 